HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: A strong start

Lake View, Andrews seek first win of season

Cynthia Esparza/Standard-Times file
Lake View High School's defense swarms Fort Stockton's player in the game at San Angelo Stadium on Sept. 3. The Chiefs aim to avenge last year's loss to Andrews.

Cynthia Esparza

SAN ANGELO, Texas - What: Class 4A/3A nondistrict game.

When: 7:30 p.m. today.

Where: San Angelo Stadium.

Radio: 7:15 p.m. on 101.9 KWFR-FM.

Of note: Andrews beat Lake View 22-7 in 2010.

When the high school football season kicks off tonight at San Angelo Stadium, both sidelines will have full understanding of what the game means.

While the results won't count in the district standings and no playoff berth is on the line, winning the first game of the season can mean so much more.

For Lake View, beating Andrews would mean gaining some much-needed confidence in Doug Kuhlmann's first game on the sidelines after the Chiefs went 1-9 in 2010.

On the opposite side of the field, the Mustangs are hoping to show that there will not be a drop-off from last year's 8-4 record despite heavy graduation losses.

It makes for an intriguing season opener between the former district foes.

"The first game of year is always an important one to win. You want to get off on the right foot and grow confidence and belief in your team," Kuhlmann said. "We didn't have those wins last year, so that makes this game that much more important.

"Success in the first game would be huge for the remainder of the year."

Last season Lake View dropped its contest to Andrews 22-7 on the road and was able to rebound with a 30-2 victory over Fort Stockton, but the Chiefs weren't able to parlay it into any more wins.

This year, thanks to the new wishbone offensive scheme, the Chiefs hope to shorten the game and control the clock and give their defense more opportunity to rest during what they hope will be long offensive drives.

Andrews, meanwhile, was a spread team last year and will rely on sophomore dual-threat quarterback Shane Dolgener to lead the offense.

During scrimmages against Big Spring and Denver City, however, the Mustangs have run much more I-formation sets than last year, according to defensive coordinator Ernie Reynolds.

Tackling has been emphasized this week in Lake View practice — especially going up against the elusive Dolgener.

"We need to break off blocks better and be better tacklers," Reynolds said after Lake View's scrimmage with Sweetwater.

He felt that the Chiefs will have a size advantage up front on offense and defense against the Mustangs.

Since Lake View played only one scrimmage leading up to the season, Kuhlmann felt that might give the Chiefs some tactical advantage heading into the game.

"They are probably asking themselves 'What else will Lake View do offensively?' They've only seen us in one scrimmage situation," Kuhlmann said. "They definitely are trying to prepare their athletes for the unknown factor and that benefits us. Hopefully we can execute the plays that we didn't get into the scrimmage."

Kuhlmann added that, even though there were some kinks to work out of the offense, he feels strongly about the plays added this week.

"The new plays we put on Monday were successful. We seemed to grasp the blocking schemes and plays," Kuhlmann said. "I feel comfortable about those plays; otherwise, I wouldn't have put them in."

Lake View senior quarterback Barney Keele said that practice has been good during the opening week.

"We have had some high intensity and we've been flying around," Keele said. "We need to keep it up against Andrews. We need to get the new offensive plays down and get rolling."

Keele understands how important it would be for the Chiefs to start off the season on the right foot.

"It would be great to kick things off with a victory," Keele said. "I think it will show people that we are coming out to play this season and the new offense is helping a lot. We need a win."